All I Want
by fidelisetespoireanoeldy
Summary: Sometimes what you need the most, is right where you left it.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I currently don't own Phineas and Ferb, but should Disney ever decide to sell it, expect to see me running.**

***Only original character belong to me, no infringment intended, yadda yadda yadda we all know the drill.**

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><p><strong>All I Want<strong>

**by Fidelis et Espoire a Noel Dy**

**Prologue**

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro couldn't go back to sleep.

She lay down on the air mattress in Phineas and Ferb's room, willing her to sleep, but it never came. She looked at the ceiling, illuminated by the winter's bright full moon shining through the window, and tried to keep herself from crying.

She had been so excited that morning during school, when Phineas and Ferb, well Phineas for the most part, asked her to spend the night. She had never been to a sleepover before, so she eagerly accepted the invitation. As soon as her mother picked her up from school, Isabella shot out the question, "Can I got to a sleepover at Phineas and Ferb's?" Her mother was hesitant at first, since her nine year old daughter had never slept away from home before, and said maybe it would be best if she tried when sleeping over at her abuela's first so that she would at least have some family near her. Isabella sighed and said she understood, knowing that her mother was worried about her, but Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro saw the crestfallen look on her daughter's face as she turned away. In that moment, she saw that causing Isabella to miss the sleepover was just baby-ing her and that missing the little things like this would give her daughter, a too sheltered life if she stayed at home. She relented and gave Isabella her permission. It wasn't long before she was walking her daughter to the sleepover that was ironically just across the street.

Now it was nearing midnight, and although Isabella and the boys had had fun together on that Friday evening, Isabella was feeling homesick. She had enjoyed eating dinner with the Fletcher-Flynn family, and had been in awe of Candace because she was older and seemed so cool because she was a high-school student. But when Phineas's mom turned out the lights, and the boys fell asleep almost on the spot, Isabella had finally realized that this was the first time she had been away from her family overnight.

Tears threatened to spill as she wondered what her mother and Pinky were doing without her there, wondered if the even missed her presence, or were the too busy having fun on their own to remember.

Afraid of awakening the boys with her sobs, knowing she would die of embarrassment if they knew what a baby she was, Isabella quietly slipped out of bed and out into the hall. She wasn't sure what to do, it wasn't as if she could go through the street that was heavily laden in snow and show up at her house at midnight. So she tiptoed down the stairs, through the living room, and to the kitchen. She grabbed a tissue, and sat at the wooden kitchen table blowing her nose in the near-darkness.

Suddenly the room flooded with the bright kitchen light. Isabella blinked a few times before she adjusted to the brighter light. With a plummeting sensation, she saw Phineas gaping at her in surprise.

"Isabella!" Phineas exclaimed softly. "Are you ok?" He came up beside Isabella and looked at her with worry. "Is something wrong?"

Isabella quickly wiped her nose and crumpled the tissue in her palm. "No," she said quickly. "I'm okay. Just can't sleep. Not used to not being in my own super-soft bed," she joked lamely.

Phineas turned quickly to let Isabella compose herself. He had seen the tears that threatened to fall in her eyes, and the crumpled up napkin that now hid in her hand. He was pretty sure he knew why Isabella was upset, but he had no idea what to say to make her feel better. Girls were still a bit of a mystery to him, even his friend. Which was why moments like these, he usually let Ferb handle. Ferb was just good at empathy and keeping people from crying. He was afraid of saying something stupid that would cause her to dissolve in tears. But here he was alone with her, he realized he'd better say something.

"Do you want a peanut butter sandwich?" he asked carefully as he walked to the pantry.

Isabella shook her head. "No, thank you. I should go to bed."

Phineas suddenly realized he didn't want her to leave. Not yet at least. "Wait," he said to her. "Lemme make myself a sandwich, and then I want to show you something."

Isabella knew that being here with Phineas was much better then lying awake in the lonely bed, so she nodded. She watched him make himself a sandwich and laughed as he tried to put in as much peanut better as he could get to hold on each slice. Phineas, enjoying his audience, soon had a sandwich so thick with peanut butter, there wasn't any way he could eat it without making a mess, but he tried. He managed to get one bite in before the majority of the contents oozed out the end and glopped onto the floor. Isabella helped him clean up the mess, each of them trying to be quiet so as not to wake up the rest of the house. The difficulty of this task made the process even funnier, and by the time they finished, their laughter threatened to erupt. Knowing they were at the breaking point, Phineas grabbed her by the hand and said, "Come let's go get our jackets on." They went to the living room was and quickly slipped on their jackets and then decided to but on their boots as well. When they finished, he led her out through the backdoor, into the cold winter evening. He half-pulled her away from the house to the large tree in the back where they ended up collapsing on the snow and gave in to their hilarity.

Once they'd laughed themselves breathless, Isabella finally was able to gasp, "So what were you going to show me?"

Phineas jerked his thumb upward. "That," he said simply.

Isabella looked at him quizzically for a moment, then turned her head up to the cloudless sky. Her mouth formed a surprised **O** as she looked above her in wonder.

"Wow," she breathed. "I've never seen so many stars in my life. Where did they all come from?" she asked him.

Phineas smiled a little, pleased to have shown her something new. "They're always there, but you don't really get to see them from where we live."

Isabella furrowed her brow and looked back at Phineas. "Why not?"

"Light pollution ," Phineas answered matter-of-factly. "All the streetlights and stuff keep you from seeing all the stars, but winter storms clear the air. We're outside in the dark more because of short days. All those bright stars around Orion are our close neighbors, and we're looking away from the center of our galaxy so they stand out. It helps that Jupiter and Saturn are near Orion this year. That will change, but even the moon and planets are higher in the winter sky when the sun is low, because they are on opposite sides of the _ecliptic plane_."

"Wow!" Isabella said, looking impressed. "How'd you know that?"

Phineas shrugged. "I noticed one day when my dad, Ferb, and I went to the movies that the starts looked clearer then when I saw them during the summer. I was curious how that could be, so I went and looked it up."

Isabella's eyes shone. "You're so smart, Phineas. I wish I could be as smart as you." Isabella tilted her head to look up at the stars again.

Phineas was glad the moon wasn't bright enough to show the blush creeping up his neck toward his red hair. Isabella's compliment had made him feel better than he could ever remember feeling. Normally he didn't think that his desire to always learn things was all that impressive. But here was Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, one of his best friends, telling him how smart he was.

Quietly, he said, "Well, it's not that big of a deal. But someday I'm going to go to college and learn lots. And one day I'm going to build big things."

Isabella turned to look at him so quickly that her long black hair flared out. "You're going to leave? Forever?"

Phineas shook his head. "Not forever. When I come back, I'm going to be a scientist, and and architect, and tons of things and then I'm going to be a teacher, and teach kids all kinds of things they don't know. THen they can build cool things like I want to, like…um…I'm not sure yet but I'm sure Ferb will help me."

Isabella gave him a shy smile. "That's good. I wouldn't want you to leave for good. I like knowing you'll always be here."

She looked at him, and he smiled back. The two of them turned their faces upwards again, and gazed at the stars in companionable silence.

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><p><strong>AN: (PLEASE READ!) Hey everyone! So this is a quick note to you all. I'm going on a trip the day after tomorrow and will be gone from home for three to four weeks. Sorry I didn't inform you sooner, but it wasn't a done deal. All my stories will be on hiatus in some sorts. As it is, I do have access to the internet so you may catch me reviewing and reading your stories from time to time(I have to do something while I'm traveling after all), but I will not always have access to word processing all the time. Plus I'm going to be doing other things, but since I will have times when I'm stopped somewhere with nothing to do, I may just pop a flashdrive into an available computer and work on one of the stories. This story I'm posting has already been completed, but I was going to post this at the end of the year(you'll see why). Since I will be gone, this story is my gift to you guys which you will all hopefully enjoy. Please review! (I'm a review hoarder sadly, There I admitted it:P, but please let me know what you think.)**

**And lots of love,**

**-Fidelis et Espoire a Noel Dy**

**PS-In the layout of this story, Phineas and Isabella may be different I guess, I'm not to sure so let me know what you think. :) **

**PS(x2)-As the story progresses see if you can figure out which movie I based this off of. I'll be sure to post a shout out to your aweome deduction skills if you get it. :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is the result of me watching [this movie] right before I wrote this story. Enjoy...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**_Sixteen years later_**

"Open your eyes, Isabella," said a deep, but familiar voice behind her. She gently took her hands from her face and lowered them to her sides.

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro slowly opened her eyelids to reveal striking sapphire eyes framed by dark, lush eyelashes. She blinked a few times to accustom herself to the dark void around her.

"What the. . .?" she began. _Click! _Suddenly the room was filled with a white light so bright it hurt her head. She closed her eyes again to block it out, then slowly opened them. When she did, she gasped in awe.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. She didn't need to be told where she was; she recognized immediately that she was in Tiffany's largest New York store. Ever since that fateful event that resulted in her leaving Danville, she had almost completely changed her goals in life. By freak chance as she wandered the streets of the Big Apple, she was seen by a desperate modeling agent who in need of a model after losing his last client, thought her blue eyes with dark hair was a perfect contrast, and found her height to be decent enough. She was then offered a job in the high-end world of modeling in the moment of sheer desperation, but proved to better at it than they expected of a civilian whom they had picked off the streets. And now five years after leaving home, here she was. A high up fashion model, one who'd even started a tradition of buying a new piece of jewelry whenever the mood struck her.

Looking around at the glass cases beside her, she shook her head in mystification. "What on earth?" she asked as she turned around to look at the man standing beside her. He looked quite as handsome as ever dressed in the black tuxedo he had worn to their elegant dinner that evening. He had promised a very special surprise after the meal, but Isabella was still uncertain what they were doing at Tiffany's, well after closing. Or how Tiffany's could even be related for the matter. If he had wanted to buy her a gift from the store, couldn't they have done it during the day?

He smiled indulgently, and then snapped his fingers once. She watched as silently more than a dozen men and women appeared from behind the counters around her side of her, each one bearing a small jewelry box. As if on cue, they all opened their boxes at once. She gasped again. Suddenly she thought she knew what the surprise would be.

"Surprise, dear! I know that Christmas is still a few weeks away, but I could not wait." The handsome man turned to her, smiling broadly, and said simply, "Pick one."

Isabella resisted the urge to slap herself, and instead, knowing that her exterior model-self was commanding, "Make me proud!" She walked up one side of the row and down the other. It hadn't taken her too long to come to a decision. She discovered a stunning solitaire, easily five carats diamond, and indicated at it, then gazed charmingly at her date. He strode swiftly over to her and stood before her. He took the ring from the smiling jeweler, and then circled to Isabella. Bending down to one knee, he looked up at her and flashed a flawless smile.

"Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, I swear you are the most beautiful woman in all of New York, no, the world. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

A lovely smile lit up Isabella's face. She opened her mouth to tell him what he wanted to hear, and then, suddenly, the color drained from her face leaving it a pae white.

"Oh, God."

"What's wrong dear?" the man asked, his brow creased in trepidation. "Do you not like this one? There are others. We can always look at others if you are unhappy with the selection." He waved his arm out to take in the many other rings being showcased around them.

Isabella nearly fell back as the wonderful fairy-tale quality of the moment passed and reality came back with a sharp blow.

"I. . .uh. . .I. . ." She looked away, dazed. In a moment, she looked back at him. Seeing that he was utterly shocked, she leaned in and quickly placed a light kiss on his mouth, then patted his head absently.

"Of course I'll marry you, Andrew," she answered, her mind lost in thought. "Just. . .not yet." She turned toward the door, then back to him once again. She leaned her head to his once more, this time giving him a more passionate kiss, holding his face in her hands. She pulled her head back and smiled her most winning smile.

"Hold that thought," she pleaded.

Then she turned in the opposite direction and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Phineas Flynn could not believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, Adyson, I saw her! I swear! She hasn't set foot in this town in _five_ years, but there she was, standing in line at Mr. Slushy Burger, happy as you could be. I swear it took everything I had not to walk up and beat the crap out of her."

Since he was eavesdropping to begin with, Phineas knew better than to ask his nearly nine-month-pregnant sister-in-law how she could possibly beat the crap out of anyone. Instead, he just continued to listen in stunned silence from his spot just outside the kitchen door.

"I doubt you're in any condition to beat the crap out of anyone, Vanessa," Adyson Van Stormm said with a raised eyebrow. "But still, I can't believe she's here."

"David-" Holly started.

"He's her cousin, right?" asked Vanessa.

"Yea, well he told me," said Holly, "when we were shopping at the Superstore, that she won't even come for holidays or birthdays. Her family, even her mom, has just gotten used to going to New York if they want to get together with her."

Adyson shook her head. "It's just so sad. I hope for Phineas's sake that she doesn't stay here long. Or, if she does, that they don't run into each other. Heck! I hope _I_ don't run into her."

Vanessa nodded her dead in agreement as she attempted to shift her bulky stomach into a more comfortable position to ease the pressure on her back. "I don't know what Phineas would do if he saw her. I haven't told him that I saw her, of course. I figured if she wanted to see him, she'd find him."

Adyson mused thoughtfully as she washed the last of the dinner dishes. With Vanessa's advanced condition, the group of friends that she had grown up with (that now included Vanessa, Candace, Stacy with their marital partners and family) had decided their annual pre-Christmas dinner party should be held at the Fletcher house, and that everyone but Vanessa would help in the cooking. Both Christmas and Vanessa's due date were less than two weeks away.

"Mommy!" Three-year-old Maggie Van Stormm came running into the kitchen, brown pigtails flying. "Robbie told me that Santa Claus isn't coming to our house this year. He said it's because I've been bad. But I've been good, I promise." Tears welled in her hazel eyes as she looked imploringly at her mother.

Adyson rolled her eyes, and gave Vanessa a You-sure-you-want-to-do-this- look before bending down to her daughter's level. "Santa is coming to our house this year, sweetie. Robbie just knows that he hasn't been a very good boy lately, and he's just trying to transfer the blame to comfort his ego." At Maggie's confused look, Adyson smiled.

"Never mind, sweetie. Go see what your Uncles are doing. Maybe their ready to string the popcorn for the tree and maybe if you ask nicely, they'll let you put the star up." Maggie's eyes lit up at that remark, and she turned and skipped into the living room. She saw her Uncle Phineas standing in the darkness of the hallways, and was about to say something to him, when he quickly put his finger to his lips in a conspiratorial motion. She smiled and put her finger to her lips as well. Maggie loved to play games with her Uncle Phineas.

Turning from the sink, Adyson said to Vanessa, "Ready to go back into the living room?"

Vanessa sighed, then laboriously drug herself to a standing position. "I guess I'd better start now if I want to get there before the kids' bedtime." Adyson laughed and with the help of Holly, helped her friend into the living room. There they found Buford, sternly commanding Robbie, his five-year-old son, and Maggie to sit quietly or there would be no popcorn for them. Mishti, who had come with her fiancé Baljeet stifled a smile as she dutifully held onto the bowl of popcorn. Ferb Fletcher, Vanessa's husband, was busy stringing the lights onto the tree, a gorgeous evergreen, just cut down from the tree farm that afternoon. Vanessa flashed a grateful look at Phineas, who had offered to take charge of placing the ornaments on the tree, a job she usually did in her house during her non-pregnant days.

Phineas looked a trifle confused, so Vanessa offered, "If you just pull them out of the boxes and hand them to me, Phineas, I can probably put them on the tree as long as we work on one area at a time." She grinned. "I'm not exactly up to moving around the tree like I usually do."

Phineas shook his head, clearing thoughts of Adyson, Vanessa's and Holly's earlier conversation. Although his mind was in turmoil, his smile was genuine as he looked at his very large sister. "Nah. I can handle it. You just sit and direct from the couch." Vanessa smiled back her thanks and went to sit.

"Can I get you something to drink, hon?" Ferb asked his wife as he finished placing the lights. Vanessa's eyes lit up. "Big glass of ice water?" She nodded. On his way to the kitchen, he stopped by her chair to lean down and hug her. "How you doin'? You gonna make it?"

"She's doing a lot better than I did with either of mine," Holly marveled. "Just yesterday she was tailing her dad cause he was doing some crazy thing again and she was keeping up with him every step of the way." She sighed as she reached down to rub her foot. "I'm the one having a hard time keeping up."

David, who just walked in the room leaned over to his wife and kissed her lightly. "Well, you've got an excuse. And don't think you have to chase after her. Just because she's not smart enough and tries to be a superwoman doesn't mean that you have to be. I want my little girl to be healthy and stress-free." Love clearly shone in his eyes as he bent down and kissed her slightly protruding belly.

Holly consciously rubbed her belly as Buford and Adyson moved to keeping peace among their children. "Four and a half more months. I'm ready for her to come now!"

She broke off as she heard a knock at the door. Everyone gazed around in surprise. Mishti spoke first.

"Were we expecting another guest?" Everyone looked directly at the pretty quiet Django, who so far had spoken only a few words. They all suspected that he had been secretly dating an unknown woman, but, to spare himself from his friends well-intentioned but rather unnerving questions, he was being very tight-lipped about his love life.

"Don't look at me!" Django insisted. "I said you all know her already and you'll see her soon. So stop bugging me-_sheesh_!"

Holly shook her head ruefully as Vanessa, the closest to the door, rose to open it. "Django, you know that anyone you would bring is always welcome to come. Friends are _always _welcome in our home." Everyone turned toward the door at the sound of Holly's gasp.

Standing on the porch was Isabella Garcia-Shapiro…Flynn.

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><p><strong>AN:** So in case you need a score on who's with who so far here's the tally:

**Married**-

Vanessa and Ferb(I don't support Ferb/Gretchen or Ferb/Vanessa so I'm mixing it up bit, so for this story it Ferb/Vanessa. No complaining!)

Holly and David(you might recognize him from my other story, I'll admit that I was too lazy to make up a whole new persona and I just needed a family member.)

Adyson and Buford(Again no complaining, I know some people like Buford/Baljeet, but I don't support being gay, I have nothing against gay people though as I have a gay godfather and uncle so I don't want to hear that I'm discriminating.)

**Engaged**-

Mishti and Baljeet(Again don't throw a tantrum:P)

**Dating**-

Django and "Mystery Girl"(its already been stated in the storyline that she's someone that everyone is at least relatively aquainted with...So who is she? Cna you figure it out?)

**And whats up with Phineas and Isabella?**

(My first closest thing to a cliff-hanger ending. I am so proud, and yes, I'm aware its not the best so don't hate me :P)


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Oh, shit__!_ Isabella thought.

She had come to Vanessa and Ferb's house merely on an impulse. When she'd come back to Danville this morning, she'd found that a lot of things had changed, not the least of which was the fact that Phineas no longer lived in that tiny apartment they had rented in another section of the Tri-State Area right after they'd married. She had no idea where to go looking for him, so she'd hung around all of his favorite spots, or in the least, what used to be his favorite spots.

Everybody was obviously shocked to see her. Several, she knew, were absolutely upset about it. She'd have to be blind not to see the look Vanessa was giving her in Mr. Slushy Burger this afternoon, and when she couldn't find Phineas this evening, for some masochistic reason she had decided to come to Vanessa's. It hadn't been hard to find, since the couple had never moved from their first home. She didn't know exactly why she'd come; she'd half-convinced herself it was because Vanessa would know where her brother-in-law was living at the moment, but somewhere inside she knew there was another motive. Vanessa had actually become a good friend when Isabella had lived with Phineas, and the look she saw on Vanessa's face that afternoon had nearly broken her heart. She couldn't stand to have Vanessa so angry with her, and she had hoped for a chance to explain why she had done what she had five years ago.

_So much for that_, Isabella thought ruefully as she saw the pure malice blazing from Vanessa's dark eyes. She could see that, like earlier today, everyone was surprised to see her there. She studiously resisted looking at Phineas, and instead, looked at Holly.

"Hi," she said quietly. "I. . .uh. . ." She realized that there was some kind of party going on. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea_.

Suddenly, the never-shy Maggie piped up. "Who are you?" Everyone seemed to hesitate in answering her question. Maggie's brow furrowed in consternation. She couldn't understand why all the adults around her were acting so strange.

"Are you coming in?" she asked Isabella.

Every adult eye in the room, save Isabella's, turned to look at Phineas.

_Damn her._

The thought ran through Phineas's head when he realized everyone was waiting for _him_ to allow _her_ entry into the party. He was angry with her for putting him in this position, but not nearly as angry as he was at her for betraying him. Even after five long years, it took only a moment for him to realize he still loved her.

Trying to ignore the pounding in his chest and the ache in his head, he shrugged. "What're you all looking at me for? It's not my house."

Slowly, all eyes turned toward Vanessa. She knew what they were waiting for. Would she let Isabella into her home, after what she had done to the man she considered an actual brother five years ago? _The hell I will_, she thought immediately. Vanessa opened her mouth to say something to that effect, when she caught sight of Maggie, looking at her with a child's innocence. Suddenly, Vanessa heard herself just a few minutes before: "Friends are _always_ welcome in our household." She realized that in refusing Isabella entry into her home, she was being petty and childish. Unconsciously, Vanessa rubbed her swelling belly. It wasn't up to her to judge Isabella. Isabella's problem was with Phineas, and Vanessa knew her brother wouldn't want his family or his friends to be put in the middle of their argument. Vanessa realized she owed it to her child, unborn as it was, to set a good example, and to show him, or her, what being a Fletcher really meant.

Vanessa nodded, and put a smile on her face. "Of course you're welcome, Isabella. You are always welcome in our household."

Isabella looked like she'd rather run. At her hesitation, Phineas stood. He knew it would be better for everyone involved if one of them left, and he figured he'd make it easy.

"Well, thanks for the coffee and popcorn, guys, but I need to get going anyway." He hugged his sister-in-law, then grabbed his coat off the hook and walked to the door. With a wave, he brushed past Isabella and went out into the night. Isabella turned back to the group, opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. With a mumbled apology, she turned and followed Phineas out the door.

"Phineas!" she called after him. He stopped and turned to look at her in the moonlight.

"What, Isabella?" he said wearily.

"We need to talk," she began as she caught up with him.

He shrugged. "A little late for that, isn't it? Maybe if you'd have tried to talk to me five years ago, instead of just leaving. . ."

Isabella opened her mouth to shout, "But I DID try!" but quickly closed it. This was not the place. "Please, Phineas, can we just go somewhere private to talk?"

He was too tired to argue. Instead, he just turned and started walking. Isabella stared after him a moment, then rushed to catch up. She was afraid to speak, and so she just walked in-step with him in silence. They walked down the streets, and in twenty minutes, they arrived at a cozy looking, craftsman-made home. The front yard that was covered in a fresh blanket of snow. Phineas opened the gate and stepped inside. Isabella looked at him questioningly.

"What's this?" she asked.

Phineas looked at her steadily. "This is my home."

Inside, Isabella stared in wonder at the small but well kept home. It was just as Phineas always said it would be: furnished with simple but classic pieces, and others that could only be of his own design. It was not too neat, but not cluttered. It looked warm and comfortable. It looked. . .like home.

She didn't know what to say. Phineas didn't have that problem.

"What the hell are you doing here, Isabella?" he spat out angrily, tossing his coat on a chair and striding to the couch. He plopped down heavily and stared at the woman he loved.

"I—I—" Suddenly, she couldn't remember anymore. How did she get here? Why did she come? _More importantly_, her mind persisted, _why did you ever leave?_ She remembered the scene she had witnessed at the Fletcher's, how happy and comfortable and peaceful everyone looked. She looked around Phineas's home again, realizing it could have been hers.

_But you don't want this_, she told herself. _You want the freedom, your own self-reliance, and the joy of living a life without limits, without worries_. Didn't she? Yes, she decided. It's too late to change the past. Move on. Get it done.

"I want a divorce, Phineas," she said finally, her voice carefully even so as not to betray her nervousness.

_Wham!_ Phineas knew that he had just been kicked in the stomach. He wasn't sure what he expected when he'd learned she was back in town, but this was definitely not it. To salvage his wounded heart, he struck back.

"I suppose you've finally met someone who'll give you what you want? More than I could give you?"

Isabella's head came up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. I was never good enough, couldn't give you what you wanted, so you left."

Isabella's voice shook with anger. "That's bull and you know it! _You_ were the one who thought you weren't good enough. You had that damn chip on your shoulder from the minute we eloped. It didn't matter that I turned down every dime of money my mom or your parents offered, lived with you in that apartment, scrimping pennies so that you could prove to yourself that you didn't need anyone else, that you could do it on your own. You wouldn't even let me get a damn job because _real_ men don't need their wives to work. Your stupid male pride didn't care that I was going crazy, sitting at home being Mrs. Phineas Flynn—"

"And that was never good enough for you, was it?" Phineas shouted, rising to stride across the room to where Isabella stood. He took her by the shoulders and continued: "You always had to have more, didn't you? You couldn't just let me try to do the one thing I always wanted to—prove to my parents, my brother and sister, to everyone, that I could really _be_ something! To prove that I was just as good as Ferb the real brain, or even Candace who got all joy she wanted from life."

"STOP IT!" Isabella shouted back. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. That's all you did for the year we were married! I couldn't stand it then and I can't stand it now. You didn't need to prove anything to anyone—except yourself, but you refused to see the truth. No one thought you were inferior but _you_, and nothing I or anyone else said could make you realize it." Angry sapphire eyes snapped as Isabella looked directly into Phineas's face.

Abruptly Phineas dropped his hands from Isabella's shoulders, then resolutely walked back to the couch. He looked defeated as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. When he spoke, it was with quiet resignation.

"Fine. Bring me the papers. I'll sign them."

Isabella did a double take. She couldn't believe she'd heard him correctly. She had expected him to argue, to tell her no way in hell would he agree to a divorce. But instead he had given in with barely a word.

_It's done_, she told herself. _You have what you want. So leave_. But her feet refused to move.

"That's it?" she asked softly.

"That's what you want, isn't it?" Phineas said snidely. "Or did you think I was going to come to New York on my big white horse, declare my love for you, brandish a sword, and tell your new boyfriend that he'd have to marry you over my dead body?"

_Yes!_ Isabella's mind screamed. Sudden memories of teasing friends and daydreams of Phineas taking her over the rainbow filled her mind.

"No, I didn't think that," Isabella said defensively. "Why would you? You've known where I was for five years, and you've never come to see me once."

Phineas shot her an icy look. "You left me," he said quietly, then he turned to stare out the window at the snow.

Isabella felt as if she'd been slapped. To salvage her pride and her heart, she tossed her blue-black hair and said coldly, "Fine. If we're agreed, then I'll have the papers sent over next week."

Phineas shrugged. "Whatever."

Isabella quickly turned to leave, but then realized she couldn't let it end this way, not like this. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to face him.

"Phineas, I—I'm sorry." She swallowed hard to force down the tears. "I know you'll probably never believe this, but I never meant to hurt you. It just got. . ." She trailed off, not sure how to explain it. "Complicated," she finished lamely.

Again he shrugged. "Yeah, I know. It's no big deal."

"Really?" she asked tentatively, wanting to believe that he could find it in his heart to forgive her.

Phineas saw the emotion in her eyes, and as hurt and angry as he was, he knew he couldn't be the cause of her hurt. In his soul, he knew that he loved her too much, and probably always would.

"Really," he answered. He managed a little smile. "I mean hey—nobody finds their soul mate when they're nine years old, right? Where's the fun in that?" He forced a chuckle, but then his laughter died as his blue eyes caught Isabella's sapphire ones, and they both remembered a starry December evening many years before.

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><p><strong>AN: One more day until my trip! So I hope your all enjoying this story. I'm trying to get it all in before then(stupid login shutdown:P), if not I'll just carry the chapters around with me until I can load them. :) So I hope you like this story, judging from the hits...or your all just checking the story out. Merci beaucoup to Random9747649 for reviewing(now I feel relieved to know this story isn't that bad, but I do understand that reviewing was shut down yesterday so I hope that's why or this story is just bad, which I really pray it isn't). I may be busy tomorrow getting ready and if so, then "Where in the world will I be when I update next?" hmmm... I'll leave you hints. :P**

**Please Review and see you soon!**

**-Fidelis et Espoire a Noel Dy**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Just to be clear: I took liberties with unamed characters in the cartoon. So the two unnamed Fireside girls(shown in season 2, can't remember the episodes, except one of them dances in Summer Belongs to You) I have named Emma and Clare. Enjoy the rest of the story!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

"Shhh. . .there he is!" Adyson's dark eyes danced as she motioned toward the main aisle of Danville's St. Dwynwen Church, where her five-year-old son Robbie was solemnly walking with his pre-school classmates toward the pulpit.

Isabella smiled at the pride she saw in Adyson's face. "What is he supposed to be?" Isabella whispered back.

Adyson, her eyes still on her son, answered softly, "He's supposed to be a king. I think Balthazar's his name, maybe?" She broke off as Mrs. Fecteau, the pre-school teacher, began the introduction to the Christmas play.

Isabella watched as Adyson turned around in the pew to make sure each family member had seen her son walk up the aisle. Isabella shook her head in amazement. She still couldn't believe she was here, just six days after that confrontation at Phineas's home.

She had expected that after Phineas readily agreed to the divorce, she would be instantly shut out from his family and friends. She thought she'd spend a few days with her family, who were so thrilled to have her home, and then head back to the city for Christmas with Andrew who happened to really love the holiday. But the day after the scene at Phineas's she was surprised to find Candace, Vanessa, Adyson, Holly, and all her close friends who still lived in the Tri-State Area on her parents' doorstep at 11am, inviting her out for Sunday brunch. She accepted with a little hesitation, thinking the women were going to try to dissuade her from going through with the divorce.

It didn't take long for Isabella to figure out that Phineas had said nothing about the divorce to anyone, and Isabella just couldn't bring herself to break the mood with the somber news. The group talked and laughed through brunch, and to Isabella, it was almost as if she had never been gone. Adyson spoke proudly of her children, and of their blonde Fireside friend Emma who had moved to San Francisco for her residency as a surgeon, while Milly discussed what it was like to be the moderater for a Fireside Girl Troop. The Vanessa and Holly also enjoyed complaining about their pregnancies, and each of them ate several helpings from the buffet at the Danville Country Kitchen. Isabella had forgotten how much fun it was to just sit and talk with women who weren't obsessed with their looks and staying thin, who had normal lives and didn't jet off to Europe on a whim and complain about their rich boyfriends.

As the three of them laughed over the antics of Robbie and Maggie, Adyson mentioned her son's upcoming pre-school pageant, and almost shyly, she asked Isabella if she would like to attend. Isabella eagerly accepted.

The next day, Phineas called her mom's house and asked her if he could come over. Isabella wasn't sure if she was up to facing him, and briefly wondered if he was planning to talk her out of the divorce. After a moment, she realized she would have to see him again sooner or later, and agreed. She silenced her inner voice that told her she really _wanted_ to see him again.

Half an hour later they were sitting in her mom's living room. Isabella had expected Phineas to be stiff and unfriendly, or perhaps overly caring and pleading, but she certainly didn't expect him to ask when she would like him to sign the divorce papers. She sputtered that she hadn't actually had the papers drawn up yet. When he asked if she wanted him to take care of it, she just stared at him wordlessly. He seemed so nonchalant about it.

_What do you expect?_ her inner voice chastised. _He's had five years to think about it._

"Um, ok," she said finally. "If you want to. . ." She trailed off tentatively.

"Sure," Phineas responded easily. "I know your schedule is probably pretty hectic, and it won't be any trouble for me to meet with my lawyer. He's right here in town." Phineas stopped, then looked at Isabella and smiled. "Hey, I hear you're coming to see the Robbie's Christmas pageant on Friday. Would you like to ride with me?"

Isabella looked at Phineas in surprise. "You want to give me a ride to church?"

"Sure. I might as well—you're right on my way in."

"Don't you think it's a little—awkward?"

"It's only awkward if you think it is. I mean, divorce or not, we're still friends, right?"

Isabella was more than a little taken aback, but at the same time, she realized she wanted to be with him. He was right—they had always been friends, even before they had been married, and she missed his company. No one, not even Andrew, could make her laugh the way he did. So she had agreed.

The next day, while shopping alone in Danville, she ran into Phineas at the Superstore. She had at least seven bags, and Phineas offered to help her with them. Isabella was amazed at how quickly they fell into the easy camaraderie they had shared ever since they were kids. Soon, they were enjoying lunch together at Mr. Slushy Burger, and laughing about childhood memories.

Phineas had "mysteriously" found a way to be with her every day this week, and now Isabella sat between him and Adyson in church, with Ferb and Vanessa to Phineas's right in the same pew. Django,Holly, David, Milly, Katie, and Gretchen was directly behind them, and the Sweetwaters and the senior Van Stormms were next to him. Buford was standing along the wall, video camera in hand, every bit the proud father. Isabella saw the look that passed between him and Adyson as their son settled in with the rest of his classmates at the front of the church. She saw the same look on Holly and David's faces as David leaned forward to touch his wife's protruding belly. It was a look of pure love and joy, and Isabella felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.

_You could have had this_, she said to herself. These last few days, as she and Phineas had almost effortlessly fallen back into the happy companionship they had shared when dating, Isabella began to wonder why she had ever left him. She certainly remembered the problems they'd had, and there was certainly no easy solution, but as they talked and enjoyed each other's company this week, the problems didn't seem as insurmountable as they once had.

She turned to look at Phineas for a brief moment, and he smiled at her before turning his attention back to the children. Several times this week she had wondered if Phineas was trying to win her back, but then, just when she was thinking that maybe they could work things out, he'd suddenly bring up the divorce again, or her modeling career, or the five years they'd been apart. There was never animosity with his words, just a casual acceptance, as if he was happy about her decisions and was ready to move on and, just as he had said, remain friends. It left her feeling hopeful and confused all at the same time.

Realizing there wasn't much she could do about it now, she focused on the children in the play. Soon, it was Robbie's turn to speak. Adyson had told Isabella and Vanessa that Robbie had practiced his one line dozens of times: "Now we must go worship the baby." When his time came, he walked to the front of the altar, solemnly looked out at the audience and spoke.

Isabella looked around her in surprise as Robbie finished his line and walked over to the "baby" in the manager (really just a very plastic-looking doll). Did anyone else hear what she thought she just heard? She could have sworn that Robbie said as clear as day, "Now we must go _wash up_ the baby." She wanted to laugh, but no one around her seemed to find any humor in it, so Isabella figured she had just not heard him correctly.

A second later, Phineas's lips were so close to Isabella's ear that she felt a shiver go down her spine. He spoke so quietly only she could hear his words: "I guess now we know why they say cleanliness is next to godliness."

Isabella let out a sound that had everyone thinking she was in pain, and all eyes in the church turned to her. Years of being in the public eye had trained her well, and she rubbed her elbow noticeably and looked around apologetically. As she expected, everyone assumed she had bumped her arm and the matter was quickly forgotten.

As soon as she felt certain that she was no longer the center of attention, Isabella discreetly jabbed Phineas in the ribs with her other elbow. He simply grinned mischievously and gave her a sly wink before ignoring her completely.

Inside, Phineas's stomach was doing flip-flops. _What is she thinking_? he asked himself. _Does she suspect anything?_

Sometimes he couldn't believe the advice he had taken from his friends. He had decided to go back to the Fletcher home Saturday night instead of moping around his house, and Vanessa, Adyson, Holly and even Mishti had corralled him almost as soon as he walked in the door. Knowing he was powerless to fight their curiosity, and being grateful he had someone to talk to, he poured out the whole story. The women looked thoughtfully at one another a few moments, and then Holly decided it was time for a "conference." Using the teleporters he and Ferb had created awhile back, the girls got into contact with all the Fireside girls, including Candace and gathered all of them in the guest bedroom of the Fletcher homestead.

"_Isn't that a little much?" he asked curiously._

"_Nope, something like this calls for all the girls, right here, right now," answered Adyson in a superior tone. The rest of the women nodded their head in sober agreement. _

"_Alright…" he said uncertainly. He turned around and left them to themselves. The female mind was beyond his comprehension._

They decided to help Phineas find a solution. Finally, a whole parade of women solemnly walked out of a guest bedroom and Gretchen suggested the, as she put it, crazy scheme of "killing Isabella with kindness."

"How's that?" Phineas asked tiredly as he sipped his spiked eggnog (more like rum with a dash of eggnog).

Candace nodded emphatically. "I'll just bet if you show her all the reasons why she loved you, she'll want to come back."

Phineas raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Sure she will!" Emma declared.

"Just pretend like you're dating again. Remind her what a suave and charming guy you are," continued Clare.

Phineas snorted.

Katie placed her hand on his sleeve. "Remind her of how much you love her, and she'll remember how much she loved you. Because from the sound of it, I for one, think she still does."

If they could have, Phineas's ears would have perked up a little.

"But don't let her suspect that you're courting her," Holly added. " Just act like her best buddy. Pretend you're fine with the idea of a divorce. Play it easy, and just see what she does."

"How am I supposed to do that? She'll probably leave tomorrow to go back to the city."

Milly smiled and answered evasively, "Leave that up to us."

And so he did. When Vanessa told him the next day that Isabella would be in town through at least Friday, he rolled his eyes and pointed out that didn't do him much good, since he had a kid's workshop to complete that week. The next day his assistant instructor had told him that being assistant instructor, he felt as if he hadn't been allowed enough time to connect with the kids and he asked Phineas if he would do him a favor and let him teach the last week of his classes, "Just for fun," he'd said. Phineas was sure one of the girls had worked her own Christmas miracle to make that happen, but seeing Isabella again had reminded him how much he missed her, so he took the man's offer and put the extra free time to good use. While he wouldn't exactly say he was stalking her, he did manage to find Isabella at every opportunity.

It had been the most enjoyable week he had spent in five years. Now, as he sat next to Isabella, he wondered for about the thousandth time if she was enjoying herself as much as he was. On their way to the play, Isabella had mentioned that she was planning to stay through at least Wednesday, which happened to be Christmas, and that brightened Phineas's spirits even more.

As soon as the play was over, the procession of children was led down the aisle and out into the hallway, followed by the grownups. Soon everyone was mingling and eating the brownies, cookies, and punch that had been brought by the parents. Isabella and Phineas stood next to Ferb and Vanessa, chatting about the play. As they were all enthusiastically praising Robbie's performance, they heard a slight commotion coming from the other side of the hall, near the church entrance. Soon they heard a voice, growing louder as the person made their way through the crowd toward them.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry. I'm looking for Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. Has anyone seen Isabella Garcia-Shapiro? Is she here?"

Vanessa, Phineas, and Ferb craned their necks to see who the person was, while Isabella's face pallor turned ashen as she recognized the voice.

"Isabella! There you are!" Andrew finally made his way through the mass of parents and children and found himself face to face with Isabella. He wrapped her in a warm embrace as Phineas, Vanessa, and Ferb stared with wide eyes.

"Your mother told me I'd find you here. A children's Christmas play? How quaint." He smiled at her, and as she allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulder, Isabella felt a sharp pang of guilt. She'd hardly thought of Andrew while she was gone, and hadn't thought about him at all in the last few days.

Her friends looked at her expectantly, and even the senior Van Stormms and Sweetwaters were curiously looking over at them. Holly and David had just walked up to them with Baljeet, Mishti, and Django, they all seemed to be waiting for an introduction.

Isabella didn't seem to know what to say, but Andrew didn't seem to have that problem.

"Here, honey," he said as he reached into the breast pocket of his expensive leather coat. "You forgot this, and I knew you'd want to have it to show your family." He took her left hand and deftly slipped the five-carat diamond on her hand.

"I think we could use that thing to pay off my law school loans and _still_ have enough left over to send our baby to Harvard," David muttered. Holly shot him a warning look.

Isabella was too shocked and embarrassed to speak. She turned to look at Phineas, but he was already making his way through the crowd to the exit.

"Phineas, wait!"

Phineas didn't hear her because he was already in the parking lot, striding toward his car. Anger seethed through him as he roughly opened the door and climbed in.

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><p><strong>AN: Ciao! Wanna guess where my plane landed? I'll give a a hint...Spaghetti! :) haha consider yourselves special because I've risen at seven forty-five in the morning while on my vacation to check and update this story for you from a country that is foreign to the majority of FF users. Thanks for the lovely reviews, I'm in a hurry so I'm going to stop talking now. :P**

**Love, Love, Love!**

**Fidelis et Espoire a Noel Dy**

**PS-Reviews per favore?**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The following Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Isabella sat on her mother's bed, holding her head in her hands.

"How did everything just get so mixed up?" she asked her mother, who was standing at the mirror applying her make-up. She looked at Isabella in the mirror as she applied blush to her cheeks.

"You tell me," her mother said with an arched brow.

Isabella sighed and threw up her hands. "I don't know! I'm confused! It all seemed so simple back in the city. I knew what I wanted, I was happy. And then I come back here, and Phineas suddenly turns into... into. . ." She trailed off, not sure how to describe it.

"The man you fell in love with?"

Isabella looked at her with resignation. Her mother had said _exactly_ what she was thinking.

Vivian Garcia-Shapiro turned around to look at her only daughter. She shook her head slightly as she thought of the predicament Isabella was in. Vivian knew that in her heart, Isabella still loved Phineas. She also knew that the two of them had married much too young (in her opinion at least). But now they were both older and more mature, and Vivian felt they could work through their problems if only they'd take the time to talk them over. She had had such high hopes when Phineas had started coming around every day last week. She almost laughed as she wondered how Isabella could have been so naïve about Phineas's intentions. That was usually his role after all.

Vivian and her family had always liked Phineas, even after he had gone off and eloped with her little girl when she was barely nineteen. Phineas had refused anyone's help when he and Isabella were struggling to make it on their own while he put himself through school, but he had always been polite and had obviously loved Isabella deeply. When Isabella had come home a year after they eloped, her mother didn't hesitate to take her in, but although she tried to help her by suggesting marriage counseling, Isabella would have nothing to do with it. She wasn't sure either if she wanted to try going to college now since she had some money to use again, she just wanted to find something for herself. She wanted to go on her own adventure, she decided. Her 'journey of self-discovery' she deemed it. So instead she went off to the Big Apple with the family's blessing and her mother's credit card, but it soon became apparent that Isabella could support herself with her looks, and she'd never come back.

_Until now_, her mother thought. _Now she sees what she's missed all these years with her glamorous friends and rich boyfriends_. She had naturally welcomed Andrew into her home when he'd come by last Friday, and when he'd announced that he was Isabella's fiancé, she had been stunned, but recovered quickly. She told him where to find her, and when Andrew and Isabella returned, Vivian had needless to say offered to let him stay. Isabella had looked ready to object, but a look from her mother clearly said, "You've made your bed; now you have to lie in it."

Isabella had reluctantly agreed; after all, she was engaged to the man. She'd spent the next four days with Andrew, helping him Christmas shop for her family in Danville. But now she saw things about him she had missed before. Although he seemed at ease in her mother's home, Isabella knew him enough to see it was just a façade. She saw his longing for the New York lights and numerous skyscrapers. He kept looking around, as if he were expecting more.

He took her to dinner (at Chez Platypus, of course) the one night they didn't dine with her family. During the meal, he tried to be very nonchalant when he asked her how soon she'd be returning to New York. She had been evasive, mentioning that she might like to take a break from her hectic schedule at least through New Year's. He seemed unhappy about that, but said nothing.

It was at they were leaving the restaurant that they ran into Phineas. She knew that he was probably there as a guest of the owner, who was an acquaintance of Phineas's and whom she had seen hosting a large party in the banquet room as they walked to their table. She hadn't seen Phineas in three days, and she found she was happy to see his familiar face. She smiled at him charmingly as they stood at the coat check, Phineas waiting for his ticket, she and Andrew waiting for their garments.

"Hi, Phineas," she said cheerily. "Here for a party?"

Phineas just said, "Hmmm," and looked away.

"Hey there, I don't think we've met," Andrew said smoothly as he extended his hand. "I'm Andrew Sonzalue, Isabella's fiancé. I thought I saw you at that little play thing last Friday, but maybe I was wrong." He spoke the last as a question, waiting to see Phineas's response, since Phineas had obviously been there, but left as soon as Andrew arrived.

Phineas stared at Andrew's outstretched hand for a moment, then deliberately ignored it as he grabbed the ticket from the coat check woman.

"No, I don't think you've seen me before." He shot Isabella a look of anger, and she knew he was furious at her for not telling him of her engagement. Then he left without another word. Andrew seemed mystified, but seemed to forget all about it as he helped Isabella with her coat.

But Isabella didn't forget it. All the way home, she felt miserable. When they arrived home it was late, and Andrew went to put his arms around her.

"It's so archaic of your mom to make us sleep in separate rooms," Andrew whispered as he nuzzled her ear. "We are engaged after all." He leaned in to kiss her, and it was at that moment that Isabella realized she felt no attraction whatsoever to Andrew. She turned her head at the last moment so that his lips landed on her cheek, and he looked at her in surprise.

She smiled prettily and said, "Yes, well, my mom can be old-fashioned that way." With that, she turned and walked toward her bedroom, silently thanking her mother for her conservative rules.

That was last night, and now it was the morning of Christmas Eve, the party at the Ferb's home would take place in several hours, and she had no idea how she was going to clean up this mess she had made of her life.

"So what do I do, Mom?" she whispered softly.

Her mother looked at Isabella intently. "That depends. What do you _want_ to do?"

Isabella hesitated a moment, then looked her mother squarely in the eye. "I just want to go home." Isabella didn't need to tell her mother where "home" was; Vivian already knew.

"Well, then. First, you need to take care of that man who is downstairs trying to make small talk with your relatives." Vivian sighed as she looked at Isabella's hand. "Oh, but what a shame to give up such a nice ring."

Isabella fingered the rock idly as she stared at it without seeing it. "Yes it is nice, "she mused, "He'd probably tell me to keep it," she mumbled. "But I won't, of course."

"Good," her mother said with a proud smile.

"But that's the easy part. What do I do then?" Isabella asked.

Vivian finished applying her mascara, put her makeup back in the drawer of her bathroom counter, then rose and patted her daughter's hand firmly.

"That, my dear, is completely up to you."

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><p><strong>AN: Ciao again! So I'm still in Italy. On a train heading to Rome. (:D) Anyway I hope your all enjoying this. My breakfast is coming in a few moments so I'm going to be snappy again. Please review!**

**I hope you all are doing well (especially during this blessed Easter season)!**

**Love always,**

**-Fidelis**


	7. Chapter 6

**And now for the penultimate chapter...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"Vivian, it's so good to see you! And Isabella! We're so glad you came!"

Phineas thought for sure he'd heard his mother wrong. But her turned around quickly and, found that he'd heard correctly. There was Isabella, coming into his brother's home with her mom.

_Isn't that just what I needed_, he thought to himself. He briefly contemplated leaving, just as he had done at Ferb and Vanessa's, but then he thought, _Hell if she's going to make me leave my own brother's house again, I'll just ignore her and that pretty boy fiancé of hers all night if I have to_.

But as Phineas watched the Garcia-Shapiro family removing their coats, Phineas realized he didn't see Isabella's fiancé, Drew or Brad, or whatever his name was. Holly must have been thinking the exact same thing, because in a heartbeat she was at Phineas's side, whispering softly, "No ring."

Amazing how women always picked up on those kinds of things right away. But sure enough, Holly was right. Isabella had taken off her gloves and he saw that she did indeed have an empty left hand. No, wait, he realized he was looking at her right hand. His eyes watched as she removed her left hand from her coat pocket, and with a sinking feeling he saw that she was indeed wearing a ring. Then, suddenly, his heart soared.

Isabella was wearing _his_ ring.

Grabbing a plate, he went to the buffet and filled it with Isabella's favorites: veggies from the tray, sweet potato casserole (with no marshmallows from the top), and a slice of turkey (no gravy). He would have taken more, but he figured that being a model would mean that she was watching her weight. He made his way across the room and smiled at her. She smiled back warmly.

"I brought you some food," he began, showing her the plate. "Are you hungry?"

Isabella looked at the meager offerings and laughed. "Hungrier than that!"

"Well, I thought that, I mean—"Phineas sputtered, and Isabella laughed.

"You thought I'd be eating like a bird because I'm a model?" When Phineas nodded innocently, she laughed and grabbed the plate from him, making her way to the buffet table. As she stood in between Honey and Brian, she told Phineas over her shoulder, "If I tried to subsist on what you're feeding me, I'd never have the energy to make it through a shoot!" She then proceeded to fill her plate with at least one helping of everything on the table, and even added marshmallows to the sweet potatoes. Phineas squeezed in next to her, and soon they were laughing as she and Phineas competed to see who could cram more food onto their plate. Holly and David exchanged a knowing glance, and everyone in the room seemed to smile a little brighter as they watched Phineas and Isabella enjoying themselves.

The Fletcher home was crowded, as it usually was for their Christmas Eve party, and Phineas and Isabella had a tough time finding a seat. Finally, with no other alternative in sight, Phineas grabbed his coat and Isabella's and then motioned her to follow him outside.

"What?" Isabella asked as she meekly followed him, trying to balance her plate of food as she pulled on her coat and gloves. "It's freezing out here! And look—it's snowing!" Isabella turned to go back inside, but Phineas grabbed her by the arm with his free hand and dragged her to the two large chairs on the front porch. They sat their plates of food on the little table in between the chairs, and laughed about eating frozen food on Christmas.

It soon became apparent, however, that neither of them was interested in eating. After a prolonged silence, Phineas spoke first. "Where is he?"

"Went home to his family in the city," she answered.

"And you?" he asked.

"I decided to go home, too," she replied quietly. "That's if I'm still wanted there."

Phineas wanted to shout for joy, but instead he just smiled. "It won't be home until you're there."

Wordlessly, they leaned across the little table and kissed, their breath mingling and sending up little puffs of frost as it chilled in the very cold air.

_Beep!_

The two of them turned their heads up. The front lights of a car stopping in the driveway blinded them and they quickly shut their eyes. Once the car stopped the lights shut off and the owner of the vehicle stepped out.

"Django you're finally here!" called Baljeet. Phineas and Isabella had failed to notice the party guests that had come outside when they heard the newcomer.

Django grinned, "Sorry guys, I had to stop and pick up someone first." He motioned for his passenger who remained hidden by the darkly tinted car windows.

The passenger door opened and out stepped a pretty woman who seemed very familiar. She had brown wavy hair and brown eyes. She wore a black coat, a white scarf, black gloves, a blue dress, and a…_Big hat?_

_You all know her…You'll meet her soon…She has a big hat… She has a big hat!_

Everything clicked in Isabella's mind and she stared at Django in surprise. "Wendy! Wendy Stinglehopper! _You're _dating Wendy Stinglehopper!"

It was silent for moment until Wendy chose to answer. With a soft blush, she spoke shyly, "Well newly engaged is the more appropriate term."

Everyone gaped at them and the silence continued.

Django laughed, "Come on guys let's go inside, you all look like guppies right now, but my butt's freezing so I'll answer all your questions in there."

Everyone but two people headed inside. Phineas looked at Isabella, "Now where were we?" he said mischievously.

Isabella giggled and leaned into the man in front of her.

"Hey! you two! Knock that off!"

Phineas groaned in exasperation. "Hasn't anyone ever heard of privacy?" he mumbled. Isabella giggled again at him and turned to the newcomer.

"We've got to go to the hospital!" Emma was sticking her head out of the front door. "Geez, what are you doing out here? It's cold!"

Phineas and Isabella looked at Emma anxiously. "What's wrong? Who's hurt?" Phineas asked quickly.

Emma smiled. "No one. Well, at least not in that way. Vanessa's water just broke. She's getting in the car right now. Vanessa's going to have the baby!"

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><p><strong>AN: Happy easter! So Easter is very big in Rome and because of that I am still up at five in the morning.:D And because of my lack of other activities at the moment I am updating! Look out for the epilogue in several minutes! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday(or weekend if your school has already gone back into session). So I hope you enjoyed the meeting with Django's girlfriend. Anyone suspect Wendy? Cause I for sure didn't. :D Truth be told, it was going to be a Fireside girl but *shrugs* then I had different ideas. Thank you so much for your reviews and to all the reviewers for sticking by with this story. (Love, Love, Love you guys!)**

**Please review!**

**Happy Easter!**

**-Fidelis**


	8. Epilogue

**So this is it! The final chapter of _All I Want. _I hope you all enjoyed this short story. I am just so sad to see it end. I just want to thank everyone who stuck by with this story, your reviews made my day, and the number of hits I received for this story, outweighed all the other hits I've received for all my stories combined. Even another story I wrote, that had more reviews than this, never came close to the hits this one got (this has made me unbelievably ecstatic). I'm just so pleased in how successful this story turned out to be. And on this note I would like to tell Random9747649 that you my friend are a genius! You guessed correctly at the movie that provided inspiration for this story. It was _Sweet Home Alabama_(If anyone hasn't seen I would recommend seeing it, it is just very cute! Oh and _Valentines day_! Great movie too)! As reward for your deduction...**

**This chapter is dedicated to Random9747649!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

It was nearly four A.M. on Christmas morning, and Phineas was sitting on the couch in his cozy white frame home. He'd left the hospital an hour ago after seeing his new nephew for the first time. Little Lawrence Fletcher was the handsomest baby boy he'd ever seen.

The room was dark save for the lights of the Christmas tree, and Phineas stared at it wordlessly. He thought of the past five Christmases, when he'd done this same thing. He'd stared at the tree, staying up all night usually, feeling melancholy.

But this time it was different. The radio was playing softly, and like most stations on Christmas, they'd gone to an all-Christmas-music format, with no commercials, one would assume so that they could give even the DJ a day off. Phineas listened to the music. Ironically, it was a song he had listened to many times over the last five years, and the happy beat, the cheerful tone of the vocalist, and all the love filled words of the song had always made him sad. But this night, it was different.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas  
>There's just one thing I need<br>I don't care about the presents  
>Underneath the Christmas tree <em>

_I just want you for my own  
>More than you could ever know<br>Make my wish come true  
>All I want for Christmas is...<br>You_

_I don't want a lot for Christmas_  
><em>There is just one thing I need<em>  
><em>I don't care about the presents<em>  
><em>Underneath the Christmas tree<em>

_I don't need to hang my stocking  
>There upon the fireplace<br>Santa Claus won't make me happy  
>With a toy on Christmas day<em>

_I just want you for my own  
>More than you could ever know<br>Make my wish come true  
>All I want for Christmas is you<br>You baby__._

He heard a knock at the door, and he rose quickly to open it. Isabella smiled and looked up at him under snow-laden lashes. He held out his arms and she readily closed the space between them. They embraced without speaking for several long moments, until finally Phineas said quietly, "Welcome home."

Isabella smiled into his shoulder. "I'm just happy to be back," she replied.

The two of them remained locked in their embrace for several moments.

Eventually Phineas motioned for her to come with him to the couch. When they were seated in the dark, with only the colored lights of the tree glowing, Isabella reached behind her and brought out a small, wrapped present. Phineas took it almost reverently, and as he unwrapped it, he could still hear the song playing in the background.

_I won't ask for much this Christmas  
>I don't even wish for snow<br>I'm just gonna keep on waiting  
>Underneath the mistletoe <em>

_I won't make a list and send it  
>To the North Pole for Saint Nick<br>I won't even stay awake to  
>Hear those magic reindeers click <em>

_'Cause I just want you here tonight  
>Holding on to me so tight<br>What more can I do  
>Baby all I want for Christmas is you<br>Ooh baby _

_All the lights are shining  
>So brightly everywhere<br>And the sound of children's  
>Laughter fills the air <em>

_And everyone is singing  
>I hear those sleigh bells ringing<br>Santa won't you bring me the one I really need  
>Won't you please bring my baby to me...<em>

"Oh, Isabella, it's. . .wonderful!" Phineas held up the Christmas ornament and stared at it in wonder. "Where on earth did you find it? I thought you don't celebrate Christmas?"

Isabella smiled shyly. "I found it that year before I. . .left. Your right, I don't celebrate Christmas, but I want to help you celebrate the holiday that means so much to you. I was going to give it to you then, but. . ." She hesitated as remembered their arguments in the months before she left.

Phineas forgot about the ornament as he leaned over to embrace his wife. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was stupid. We can work it out though." He leaned back to look at her, arms still around her. "Can't we?"

Isabella nodded, her eyes shining with tears. "You weren't stupid, Phineas. We may have had our problems, but I'm the one who chose to leave instead of work things out. I'm the one who caused us both all this heartache."

Phineas looked thoughtful. "No, it wasn't all your fault. You were right about so many things. Your right though, I was a different man when you left me, but I'm not that same person I was five years ago, Isabella. Hell, I'm not the same person I was two weeks ago. Seeing you again, being with you, made me realize that what I thought I was trying to prove to everyone was just my own pride getting in the way of living a happy life. And look at how successful you are. I always knew you were beautiful, and it's obvious that everyone else thinks so, too. Phineas looked at Isabella sternly. "You will continue to model. You're too good to stop, but…"Phineas voice went down several notches to the form of a shy whisper, "but you will be hang around this time, right?"

Isabella looked at him lovingly and grasped his hands. "This time Phineas, I'm here to stay."

Phineas grinned and everything in his world felt right, well except for one thing. "But your modeling! I just said it; you're too good to stop!"

Isabella couldn't help but laugh. "I won't Phineas, but..."

"But?" Phineas asked confused.

"I want to try working in a different area."

Phineas cocked one eyebrow up at her. "What's that?"

Isabella smiled slyly. "Maternity clothes."

Phineas grinned at Isabella. She smiled back at him and once again the two found themselves gazing at each other oblivious to the outside world. While Isabella was still in her state of obliviousness, Phineas chose take advantage of it. And before she could take note of the situation, he quickly picked her up in his arms and started to carry her to the bedroom.

Isabella squealed in surprise and laughed. Then she asked, "But aren't you going to put your new ornament on the tree?"

"I'll let you do it," he said happily. Still holding his wife, Phineas leaned over so that Isabella could reach the ornament he had left on the couch, and then he carried her over to the tree. She reached out and draped the string loop over a branch and together they looked at the unique ornament: a shimmering crystal star bursting forth with soft silvery beams of light.

"It's perfect," he whispered softly as he leaned down to kiss her.

_Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas  
>This is all I'm asking for<em>

_I just want to see baby  
>Standing right outside my door<em>

_Oh I just want him for my own  
>More than you could ever know<br>Make __my __wish come true  
>Baby all I want for Christmas is<em>

_You..._

_All I want for Christmas __is you baby__  
>All I want for Christmas is you baby<br>All I want for Christmas __is you baby_

**Fin**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much everyone! I'm actually crying now that its over. I never bothered to look at the traffic for this story so when I remembered to today, I do believe I came close to fainting. :D I just love you guys so much! Also, I must apologize for updating so late. I know that I promised a few minutes, but I became unhappy with the epilogue (Remember this wasn't supposed to be posted until December, so I had actually written this story in Feb/March, which gave me time to perfect my writing in this story) and rewrote parts of it and then I ended up having to leave my writing because it Easter. And I'm in Rome...during Easter...where all the Catholics are...right outside of Vatican City is...and the pope... and all the Christians get really into it so they throw giant celebrations for it...so yea...it should add up. I just can't believe this is my first completed story and feel so proud of it. Wow, I'm getting sappy over a story...okaaaaay. After this, my updates for my other story Las Mananitas may be more infrequent, I haven't typed it yet so...yep.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers! **

**Random9747649-You made my story feel loved first! 3(this is supposed to be a heart but Document manager won't let me finish it haha :))**

**Alycia31-You are by far, the kindest sweetest reviewer I have ever known. :D**

**Claudia Johnson-Your reviews made me believe I wasn't going to far off with my characters(OOC: Out of character) and nice try guessing. :P**

**FrankandJoe3-Thanks for the reception with Phineas and Vanessa, I think that over the course of this story as I went back and read it again, I actually got myself into supporting this couple. Oh the irony, convinced by my own writing... ;] **

**ratluck2-Thanks for the positive comment, I just feel so loved, I'm glad you all found this story cute and heart warming definitely made my day! :}**

**And thanks to anonymous reviewer Anon- I'm so glad you found my story moving, it means the world to me. :)**

**I love, love, love, you guys. And love is infinite so this love is forever. :D **

**God bless you all! I'll see you all soon(whether it be back at home or some other place)!**

**-Fidelis et Espoire a Noel Dy**


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